Superman Ultimate Flight starts with an electromagnetic launch through a neon-lined tunnel that pushes the coaster partially up a vertical spike before the train barrels backward through the tunnel again and up another vertical spike. The launch recalls the Wicked Twister at Cedar Point, an Intamin Impulse shuttle coaster.

After racing through the tunnel a third time at speeds reaching 62 mph, the train navigates a 180-degree twist as it again climbs the first vertical spike to the ride's highest point.

At the top, trim brakes slow the train before heading into a heart-line roll at 150 feet in the air. The slow-moving barrel roll offers plenty of hang time with only a lap bar restraint holding riders in place.

Another trim brake just before the first drop dangles riders over the edge of the second spike before the train dives down another 180-degree vertical twist that leads into a non-inverting loop. The non-inverting loop, which twists twice at the top keeping the car upright at all times, recalls a similar element in Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Studios by Maurer Sohne.

Upon exiting the loop, the train zips once again through the tunnel and up the initial spike before rolling back into the station.

The vertical layout of the 863-foot-long track allows Superman Ultimate Flight to sit on an extremely compact footprint, recalling Green Lantern: First Flight at Six Flags Magic Mountain, an Intamin ZacSpin coaster.

With only single 12-person trains operating on the track, the new ride may experience some significant capacity issues.

Among its many innovative elements, the one-of-a-kind coaster will also hold the title for tallest inversion west of Mississippi for its 150-foot-tall heart-line roll. Volcano: The Blast at Virginia's Kings Dominion, a 1998 Intamin inverted launch coaster, holds the record for tallest inversion for its distinctive 155-foot roll-out element.

Imagine inner tubing down a water slide only to realize you've been riding along the back of a hissing 250-foot-long snake and are about to plunge into the gaping mouth of the fang-bearing and venom-spewing King Cobra.

Six Flags Magic Mountain will reclaim sole ownership of the Roller Coaster Capital of the World title with the announcement that arch-rival Cedar Point will remove one of its 17 coasters before the start of the summer season.

Six Flags Magic Mountain is expected to add a terrain-hugging launched roller coaster in 2013 featuring the world's tallest loop, according to an employee who wasn't authorized to speak on behalf of the amusement park.